Friday, February 7, 2014

Devin Johnson, 23, a former mixed martial arts fighter, was left quadriplegic following a training accident in 2012. The Bee profiled his plight in a series of stories last year.

A student at American River College, he was headed to his apartment near the campus Jan. 17, traveling along a residential street in his wheelchair, when he was approached by two young men who tried to sell him video game equipment. Johnson said he declined, but the two followed him.

Johnson, who was alone, said he felt he was safe as long as cars were passing on the street, but once he reached an area without traffic, one of the young men confronted him.

“He stopped me, took my iPhone, which was on my lap, and sprinted away,” recalled Johnson, who immediately went home and reported the theft to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

He also undertook a little detective work on his own.

Johnson explained that an app on his iPad notifies him of the location of his iPhone. The iPhone’s batteries were dead when it was stolen, but Johnson said he knew he would be able to trace it as soon as the thief recharged the phone.

Sure enough, two days later a notification popped up on his iPad, indicating that the phone was at a nearby residence.

Johnson, accompanied by a couple of his martial arts buddies – and his mother, who insisted on going along – went to the residence, confronted the suspect and retrieved the phone. “Mom neutralized the situation a bit,” he said.

Johnson said the suspect was unable to use the phone to make calls or send text messages, but he did use the camera feature to take photos of himself. After retrieving the phone, Johnson showed the photos to another ARC student with disabilities, who indicated the suspect appeared to be the same person who had robbed him of an iPad.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa Bowman said detectives arrested a 17-year-old boy Tuesday night on suspicion of robbery in connection with Johnson’s case. His name has not been released because he is a juvenile. She said there is no evidence that the youth was responsible for the robbery of the other student, but detectives are working with American River College police to determine whether the suspect may have been involved in other incidents.

American River College spokesman Scott Crow said campus police are aware of the two incidents. The other student, who uses an iPad to communicate, was confronted on campus by an individual who asked for the time. When the student attempted to respond using the iPad, the individual grabbed the device and took off, Crow said.

Despite the two incidents, Crow said he is not aware of any trend in crimes targeting people with disabilities on or near the campus.

“To steal a device from someone who is disabled is pretty heinous,” Crow said.

He said campus police are working with sheriff’s detectives and had interviewed the suspect.

Johnson, who is majoring in accounting at ARC, said he values independence, but he advises people with disabilities not to travel alone, if they can avoid it.

“I just think people in my situation have got to be more aware,” he said.

Friday, August 10, 2012

He is big. He is loud. He is scary. He starts yelling at you from twenty feet
away. You tell him to “BACK OFF!!!” He
walks straight up to you. He stands directly in front of you and reaches to
grab you. You punch him in the groin. As he crumples from the pain, you strike him
in his enormous head. He falls to the ground unconscious.

Welcome to the world of Adaptive Fantasy Fighting.

Before I go any further, there is value to this type of
Fantasy Fighting. It allows you to bring up your aggression level, to learn to
be vocal and assertive, to experience the effects of adreneline, to strike something as hard as you can. It increases
your self-confidence and the conviction that you can “handle” an attacker. And
as long as you never actually encounter a motivated attacker, it is all good.

But if you do, you will find out that real assaults have
nothing in common with Fantasy Fighting.

Real attackers don’t begin by threatening wheelchair users
from 20 feet away. They don’t need to. They don’t make it so obvious that they have “bad
intention”, thus giving you time to vocalize from a safe distance. They walk
right up to you, or they come after you from behind, or from the side. In any
case, they attack with the most obvious and natural attack. They push, pull, or
punch you out of your wheelchair.

They don’t grab you and just stand there in front of you.
They want you out of your wheelchair so they can either stomp on your head, or
kick you in the kidneys and ribs, or sit on your chest so they can either pound
you senseless or smash your head into the pavement. What this means is that the
attacker doesn’t stop moving, pressuring, and attacking you until he achieves
his immediate goal of knocking you out of your wheelchair because that is the thing
he set out to do.

Now as wheelchair users we know how easily we fall out our
wheelchairs. We fall over backwards when we inadvertently lean back too far,
when dancing with an overly enthusiastic dance partner, when carrying too heavy
of a backpack, etc. We fall forwards when our front wheels sink into soft terrain,
when we hit a large crack in the sidewalk, when we try to pick up something too
heavy in front of us. We fall over sideways when going across a side slope and
we reach down the hill. Now let’s imagine that some aggressive motivated person
wants to make us fall. The reality is
that it will happen despite our best efforts to prevent it.

Yes. But what about that devastating strike to the groin?
The problem with this “counter-attack” is that it is launched from your
aggressor’s “Kill-Zone”, the place where he has maximum power and advantage.
The place where he can tee off on your head with an overwhelming downward blow,
or blast you over backwards with a strong push to your chest or shoulders.Because of his height, superior base, and
lower body mechanics, his Kill-Zone is much more powerful than your Kill-Zone.
It is the same as fighting against a flame thrower with a blow torch. You think
you and your blow torch are tough stuff until you meet the man with the flame
thrower.

As a practical matter what this means is that you must not
allow yourself to be caught in the Kill-Zone. You need to either pre-emptively
warn your aggressor to stay out of the Kill-Zone, explosively push/strike your
aggressor out of the Kill-Zone before his attack, or be prepared to be taken to
the ground fast and hard. The problem with Fantasy Fighting is that the
majority of techniques you execute while in your aggressor’s Kill-Zone. And you are lucky enough to be fighting an
unmotivated aggressor who forgot to bring his flame thrower. So, naturally you
win. If that is the case, then yelling
at him to “Back the F-Off!!”is probably
all you need any way.

When you fight the padded man, your natural response is to
punch with a closed tight fist. It “feels” the most effective. Without the
power generated from the lower body and core, open handed strikes feel weak and
ineffective. The problem is that when punching a real skull, closed fist
punching will get you a broken hand. It is slow and requires chambering. And without
Hollywood style acting, punching is weak and ineffective without use of the
lower body and core.

If you are attempting to fight off a physically more
powerful attacker, you must rip, tear, bite, break, gouge, choke, and whip him
in sensitive areas and joints with explosive unpredictable speed and
viciousness while simultaneously warding off his attack and most likely doing
this from the ground. Fight training in your wheelchair against the impotent over-dramatic
padded man with no real anatomy doesn’t allow you to do this and is merely an
Adaptive Fantasy Fight.

It is not enough to know what happened, we need to learn how to prevent it from happening to us or someone else.

From reading about the attack and studying the available video, I have made the following observations:

The victim tries to use the elevator to get away from the attacker. This is a valid strategy against a lowly-motivated attacker. But a wheelchair user is simply not quick enough to get away from a high-motivated attacker.

The attacker walks after the victim.Notice he is walking not running. He knows he can catch up to his victim.

The attacker approaches the victim. He appears to be relaxed. This is the point where the victim must use LOUD verbal boundary setting to DETER his attacker. He must prepare both his body and mind for immenient attack.

The victim has positioned himself with the attacker on his side with his hands on his wheels.This is a highly disadvantageous position to execute a physical defense. The body language of the victim and attacker suggests that the victim is still unaware of the attacker's malicious intentions.

The victim is assaulted (punched). He is flipped backward and falls into the elevator. It is very easy to knock a wheelchair user backwards out of his chair. Many standing people have been killed from an unconcious fall from a punch.

The attacker is studying the effect of his attack. He leaves and comes back with another. The concealment created by the elevator is providing confidence to the attacker.

The victim attempts to get back into his wheelchair after the initial attack. The return of the attackers is evidence of the highly motivated nature of this assault. In this situation, self-defense from multiple highly motivated attackers means the ability to mimimize injury, attract attention, and outlast the attackers while on the ground.

While not shown on the video, the attacker and accomplice use the metal arm rests of the wheelchair as clubs to beat the victim on the head. In addition, they take valuables from his bag.

The attackers leave the scene after the attack, beating, and robbery. Notice that they just walk quickly - not run away. It appears they were not worried about being spotted.

Victim is helped back into his chair after receiving severe head injuries.

The goal of self-defense is to minimize the consequences of aggression. In this case, the major consequence is the head injuries not the robbery.

Unfortunately, this type of predatory attack happens all the time. It happens to all kinds of people and it happens all over the world. While the circumstances of each attack varies, the attacks usually follow the same general pattern of (1) Attacker's motivation to commit a crime (2) Selection of Victim (3) Physical Assault (4) Completion of the Crime (5) After-effects.

Friday, July 9, 2010

A man shot to death by Denver police on June 28 had attacked a paralyzed man in a wheelchair just minutes before and stolen that man's air pistol, the Denver district attorney's office said today.

It was that air pistol, a Crosman 77 semi-automatic CO2, which looks like a Glock G19 compact pistol, that 26-year-old Arturo Enriquez pulled on two police officers before he was killed, said Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey in a letter clearing the two officers who shot Enriquez.

Morrissey said that Enriquez, who was born in Mexico City and has 15 aliases and an extensive police record, attacked the man in a wheelchair about 12:30 a.m. in his apartment building at 3130 W. Louisiana Avenue.

Enriquez and a companion had followed the man into the apartment building and up to his fourth floor apartment. There, as the man unlocked his apartment door, they tried to push into the apartment. The paralyzed man immediately pulled his key out of door lock.

Morrissey said Enriquez and his companion momentarily left, but then came back to the wheelchair, where the man in the wheelchair pulled the air pistol.

Enriquez grabbed the air pistol and hit the man in the face with it. Enriquez then punched the paralyzed man, pushed him against the wall, and threw him to the floor.

As Enriquez and his companion left, the companion laughed and said, "That's what you get, cripple."

Enriquez picked up the air pistol. The paralyzed man told police he carries it for protection.

Several minutes later, police officers Michael Walsh and Daniel Morehead found Enriquez about a block away.

Enriquez pulled out a screwdriver and advanced on Morehead but threw the screwdriver to the side, said Morrissey. Morehead then kicked Enriquez, knocking him to the ground.

At that point, Walsh arrived. Almost immediately, Enriquez raised his shirt, pulled out the air pistol and raised it toward the officers. Both Walsh and Morehead fired six shots, killing Enriquez.

In clearing the two officers, Morrissey noted Enriquez's long criminal record.

His arrests include assault, disturbing the peace, disobeying a lawful order, shoplifting, first-degree criminal trespass and destruction of private property.

Morrissey said that the officers' decision to fire on Enrique was justified because he pulled a handgun on them.

"The fact that the handgun turned out to be a Crosman 77 air pistol, and not the more powerful 'firearm' it resembled, is of no significance in finding the officers' conduct to be justifiable," said Morrissey.

Friday, June 25, 2010

A convicted sex attacker who raped a disabled woman in hospital while working as a healthcare assistant has been jailed for public protection, with a minimum term of six years.Naraindrakoomar Sahodree attacked the wheelchair-bound multiple sclerosis sufferer during a night shift at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in central London on October 31 2008.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Brighton man was arrested late Monday after he allegedly robbed a 67-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair and then pushed her onto trolley tracks, according to police officials.

Jerdon Brooks, 48, was arrested after officers responded to the Mission Hill area about 11:40 p.m. Monday, according to Boston police. Brooks was charged with unarmed robbery and assault on a person 60 or older in allegedly stealing $10 from the victim while she was waiting for the Green Line trolley, police said. Police said Brooks then pushed her onto the tracks on Huntington Avenue.

“The charges here are particularly disturbing, because the victim was both an older adult and used a wheelchair,’’ said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney’s office. “It’s something that we take very seriously.’’

Officers from the Wentworth Institute of Technology police force responded after receiving a report of a woman screaming near Ward Street, according to the police report. Boston police and Transit Police were notified.

Several people were standing with the victim on the trolley tracks when officers arrived, police said. Trains were still in service at the time, and the victim was helped off the tracks by the witnesses, according to the police report.

AN INQUIRY has been launched into measures taken by the police, schools, transport firms and other public bodies to stop disabled people being harassed or attacked, it was announced today.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) warned it could take enforcement action if it found that organisations were failing in their duties.

As part of its evidence-gathering the commission has highlighted 12 high-profile cases of disability harassment in Wales – ranging from cases of bullying and targeted vandalism to the deaths of people with disability – going back to February 2009.

They include the case of David William Frederick Rees, a 50-year-old alcoholic and epileptic who suffered with cirrhosis, who was beaten to death by two men in his Trealaw home.

His attackers, Steven John Evans, 24, and Leighton Aaron Williams, 26, of Tonypandy, were each jailed for five years in March after they denied murder but admitted manslaughter.

In April, a 22-year-old man was charged with the murder of Philip Holmes, a disabled man whose body was discovered in a flat in Rhyl, Denbighshire. Mr Holmes, who used a frame to walk following an accident, died hours before his 57th birthday.

The commission is now calling on disabled people and their carers to come forward and give evidence to the enquiry, the first wave of which will be completed in September this year.

Kate Bennett, the EHRC’s national director for Wales, said: “There can be no more important human right than to live life in safety and with security. Its absence prevents us from living our lives to the full.

“Disabled people should have the same right as everyone else to walk down the street without being intimidated or assaulted, to attend school without being bullied, to get on a bus or live in their house without fear.

“Abuse, intimidation and violence against disabled people can be terrifying and is largely an untold story here in Wales.

“If we collect enough stories at this evidence-gathering stage it will help us all to identify solutions and put them into practice. Improving life for disabled people in Wales is an urgent task.”

Across the UK, at least one person appears in court every working day charged with a crime against a disabled person, with almost half of cases involving violence.

Among the most shocking cases have been that of Brent Martin, a 23-year-old with learning disabilities who was kicked to death by three youths in Sunderland in 2007, and, in the same year, Fiona Pilkington who killed herself and her 18-year-old disabled daughter Francecca Hardwick after a sustained campaign of abuse at the hands of youths at their Leicestershire home.

Rhian Davies, chief executive of charity Disability Wales, said: “We welcome the decision to investigate the level and depth of abuse, violence and harassment experienced by disabled people in Wales.

“Following the deaths of Brent Martin and Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca, there needs to be a commitment to action to ensure all disabled people in Wales live a fulfilled, safe and secure life.”

Research carried out by the EHRC in 2009 found disabled people were four times more likely to be victims of crime and that disabled children and young people, particularly those with learning disabilities, were most at risk.

Social Justice and Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant said: “We all have a duty to protect the most vulnerable in society and ensure that disabled people and those with long-term health conditions are able to live a life without fear.

“This is why I welcome the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s decision to undertake this enquiry.”

* For details on how to give evidence at the enquiry, visit www.equalityhumanrights.com/disabilityharassmentfi , e-mail

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Authorities are asking the public to help find a man who reportedly beat up a disabled person as he was waiting for a bus at a Metro transit center in northeast Houston.The assault happened at the Mesa Transit Center in the 9400 block of Mesa near Tidwell about 10:30 a.m. May 26, officials said.Officials said the man punched the victim several times in the face and body.The victim, who is a ward of the state of Texas, is recovering. His condition and injuries are unknown.Authorities did not disclose what sparked the attack.After the beating, the man and a woman who was with him boarded a 52 Route bus.

An Edmonton man who admitted viciously beating a disabled woman with her own cane – leaving her with a shattered face and too scared to go out – has been locked up.

Dennis Jeffrey Perrot, 45, was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday in provincial court after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, uttering death threats and assault.

“You destroyed her life in many ways,” said Judge Albert Chrumka, adding there was almost a “touch of evil” to the unprovoked attack inflicted on the 62-year-old victim.

The judge also said he found the sentence, a joint submission by Crown and defence, to be a “bit low” and refused to give Perrot any credit for the four months he spent in pre-trial custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre.

Crown prosecutor Marisa Anderson told court Perrot had gone over to his ex-wife’s residence on Oct. 20 after being assaulted by some men and they began arguing about his lifestyle as she tended to his injuries.

Meanwhile, the woman’s friend, Margaret Darbel, was sitting in the living room selecting a ring tone for her cell phone and the noise “irritated” Perrot, said Anderson.

Perrot began to argue with the woman, who has difficulty walking as a result of suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, and he grabbed her copper cane and began repeatedly striking her about the head and face, said Anderson.

As Darbel was bleeding profusely from her face, Perrot’s ex-wife tried to remove him and was pushed into a wall.

Police were called and Darbel was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where she was treated for severe facial lacerations, two black eyes, a broken nose, a broken cheekbone and a broken orbital socket.

Court heard Perrot also threatened Darbel by saying he would “cut her throat with a knife” if she called police.

“This was a brutal and vicious attack on someone who was defenceless,” said Anderson, adding Perrot has a “violent and disturbing” lengthy criminal record.

Darbel told court she used to be outgoing and was active doing both work and volunteer activities.

“Now I’m a recluse and staying in my home because I’m scared to death that someone would be after me,” said Darbel, adding she can’t see well due to the injuries near her eye and her cheek is completely numb.

“Emotionally I’m not the same,” she said. “I’m scared to death to go outside.”

Monday, May 31, 2010

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - A disabled man was assaulted by a group of men with brass knuckles.

The incident took place Thursday evening, but the victim didn't report the aggravated assault until Saturday afternoon while he was in the hospital.

Columbus Police reports show the victim tells them a group of black men assaulted him at his home on Munson Drive.

The victim says he was struck in the face with brass knuckles and he then fell to the ground. He tried to get up and run away but the individuals surrounding him made it impossible. He then tells police he was hit and kicked all over his body.

He was transported to the Medical Center to be treated from bruises, cuts and several teeth that were knocked out during the attack.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A 52-year old man was found slumped on his sofa with a broken leg and collapsed lung 15 hours after two men assaulted him with his own walking stick.

The victim had let the two men into his house in Whitehall Street in the early hours of Saturday.

They sat in the front room with the victim asking him for cigarettes, drugs and money. The offenders became angry when they found that he did not have any, with one of them kicking the victim in the face as he was sitting on the couch.

He then picked up the victim's walking stick and used it to hit him at least 10 times on the head, as well as his shoulder, ribs and shin.

During the assault one of the offenders also stamped on the victim's head. The offenders then left the house with the walking stick.

The victim was unable to move and was found by a relative in the same position later that day at 8pm. He was taken to hospital for treatment to a broken leg, broken ribs and punctured lung as well as cuts and swelling to his head and remains there in a stable condition

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A disabled teenager who was brutally beaten on a street near his home Tuesday said his cell phone may have been what sparked the attack.

Jerome Brown, 19, who is mentally challenged, was attacked at the intersection of Parkman Street and Dorchester Avenue about 4:40 p.m., left bloody and screaming for help. He said the attack was not random."They hit me in the face. My face was crashed up. I was OK. I got up, walked, but I was limping at the same time," Brown said.

He said he knew the attackers and said they may have wanted his cell phone.

"Over a phone, like, who wants a phone? Like, everybody has a phone ..." Brown said.

A witness said he was inside his home when he heard "awful screams" coming from the area and saw Brown curled up on the ground getting kicked and punched by a group of teens.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

COALGATE OK--A Coal County Man attacked on his own property by trespassers is speaking out, about how the attack has affected him and his family

58 year old Chris Laws has had his fair share of hard times, a military career in the Special Forces, cut short by an injury. It was one of those hard times that brought Chris and his wife Ruth to Coal County.

"She got cancer so we moved closer to TMC and we looked and looked and finally found this place and it was perfect," said Laws.

Hard times came to Chris Laws again in January, when he says two men on horseback approached his home one Saturday evening in January.

"They stopped over here by my RV and I said you just need to turn back and go back the way you came, and they just started cursing me," said Laws.

Laws says he called the Sheriff's office, and was waiting in his pickup at the end of his driveway, when one of the men approached and attacked him.

"He hit me several times and he bit me right here," said Laws.

He suffered a broken ocular bone, a loss of vision in his left eye, and worse.

"The next morning I was having chest pains so they took me to the VA hospital and I had a heart attack in the waiting room," said Laws.

Laws spent 5 days in the hospital and has had to return for treatment many times since.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is investigating a reported sexual battery that occurred last night on a rural road near Leesburg.

A 38-year-old Leesburg woman reported she was riding with a family member in the area of Gleedsville Road and Woodside Place when the vehicle broke down around 7 p.m. She decided to walk to get assistance.

As she was walking, a dark colored pickup with West Virginia tags approached her. The two men inside offered her a ride, which she accepted. Inside the vehicle, one of the men inappropriately touched the victim. She fought off the man who then physically assaulted her. She then got out of the truck, according to the report.

The victim was later picked up by her family member after the vehicle started.

The suspects are described as white men, both in their late 20s. The passenger was said to have a thin build and was wearing a white shirt and white baseball hat. The driver was wearing a dark colored T-shirt and had medium length sandy colored hair.

Deputies were notified of the incident around 7:55 p.m. as the victim was driving to the Cornwall Campus of Inova Loudoun Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries. A search of the area found but no vehicle matching the description of the pickup.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Bloemfontein – A Free State family of five are reeling in horror after being attacked by six men wielding spades and knives.

"It was like something out of a horror story," said Johan van Vuuren after the family was attacked in what he called a "monstrously cruel" way in his parents' home in Jagersfontein.

His parents, Boet, 80, and Francina, 77, brothers Marius, 44, and Marthinus, 35, and nephew Juan, 13, were attacked on Sunday evening in their home in Harrington Street by six men wielding spades and knives.

The attackers left behind a blood-splattered house.

Boet and Marius were badly assaulted although both were in wheelchairs, due to a spinal chord virus and a car accident injury.

After Johan, an employee in the logistical department of Grootvlei prison at Bloemfontein, received the call about the attack, he rushed to Jagersfontein.

But he was not prepared for awaited him at the house.

"There was blood against the walls and on the floor."

In addition, almost the whole house was turned upside down.

Johan told how his family members in Jagersfontein had just finished watching the news on TV when his mother opened the front door for the dogs.The attackers rushed into the house, grabbed her and used her as a shield.

Johan said his father always had his .22 calibre pistol with him.

"My father wanted to shoot but couldn't. He was scared he might hit my mom."

The family members were stabbed with knives, assaulted with spades and kicked.

"Marius was knocked out of his wheelchair with a spade," said Johan.

One of the attackers wrestled with Boet to take his weapon. It was grabbed from his hand and one of his fingers was broken.

He was forced to unlock the safe, from which the attackers stole R38 000.

The attackers fled with the money, pistol and other items.

"It is inhuman," said Marthinus on Monday from his hospital bed at the National Hospital in Bloemfontein.

Johan said his mother was in a coma and had bleeding on the brain. She was in the intensive care unit of the Pelonomi Hospital.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Disabled people frequently report that their disability was a factor in crimes committed against them. Despite this, the vast majority of such incidents are not investigated, prosecuted or sentenced as disability hate crimes. Blair McPherson investigates

Is it a crime to call someone names in the street or try and get cigarettes off them? Is it a crime to borrow a fiver on giro day or to get a "friend" to share their medication? Is it a crime to take advantage of people who have a disability simply because they are easy target, socially isolated and afraid to report their tormenters believing no-one would do anything anyway?

It's clearly socially unacceptable, it's nasty and it shows a very unpleasant side of human nature but is it criminal behaviour? Is it hate crime or is it just anti-social behaviour? It is hate crime and it is punishable by a prison sentence?

What's different about disability hate crime as opposed to behaviour motivated by racism or homophobia? Disabled people are targeted for hate crime in the same way as people from minority ethnic groups and gay people but with the added dimension that disabled people are seen as easy targets.

What's different about disability hate crime is the people responsible. Statistically they are white, male, young and local. Anecdotally they are "friends" and neighbours. Those subjected to disability hate crime do not suffer at the hands of strangers, they know who their tormenters are.

Sometimes it's a local group of young people who call out abuse in the streets, throw stones at the windows and vandalise the individual's property. But it is also the practice of befriending someone with a disability with the purpose of taking advantage of them. Borrowing money with no intention of paying it back, eating someone's food leaving them to go hungry, using their house for parties, making jokes at their expense, and bullying them. There is evidence from those prosecuted for the most brutal assaults involving torture and abuse over a long period of time that this often started with this type of low level exploitation that went unchallenged.

What can be done about disability hate crime? Increase awareness so it is recognised for what it is, a serious criminal offence. Encourage neighbours and the general public as well as housing, social services and voluntary agencies to report incidents to the police. For everyone, including the police, to take such reports seriously and do something about it.

While disabled people feel no-one will do anything they will continue to feel that it is pointless to report incidents. While perpetrators continue to believe no-one will intervene then abuse will continue. The law is there, it is not acceptable to dismiss disability hate crime simply as anti-social behaviour or to fail to prosecute on the assumption that people with a disability, like a learning disability, will make unreliable witnesses.

The history ...In 2000, a couple with learning difficulties were held hostage in their home over a weekend. They were both sexually assaulted and the man was forced to eat faeces and was cut 40 times. His partner was also attacked. Their children witnessed the attacks. The couple now have post-traumatic stress syndrome.

In March 2005, Keith Philpott, who had learning difficulties, was falsely accused of being a paedophile, tortured, disembowelled and stabbed to death in his own home.

In July 2007 Christine Lakinski, a disabled woman, collapsed in a doorway on her way home. As she lay dying, a man threwa bucket of water over her, covered her in shaving foam and urinated on her. One of his friends filmed the incident on a mobile phone.

In May 2006 Raymond Atherton, a 40-year old man with learning difficulties, was severely beaten, had bleach poured over him and was thrown in the River Mersey, where his body was later found by police. His attackers were people he had considered his friends.

Nicola Barnaby, who has chronic anxiety, endured seven years of physical and verbal abuse from tenants in her council flat. When she reported being pushed and called a "mad schizo" the police did nothing to intervene.

Rikki Judkins was murdered in an underpass in June 2006. A police spokesman said: "He was subjected to a sustained assault that culminated in a large stone being dropped on his head, causing fatal injuries."

Kevin Davies, who had epilepsy, was kidnapped and held captive in a garden shed for four months before he died in September 2006. He was fed scraps, brutally tortured and his money was stolen. Again, he had considered his captors his friends.

In April 2007, Colin Greenwood, a blind father with young children, was kicked to death by two teenagers. Before his murder, Mr Greenwood had stopped using his white stick in public for fear of being targeted.

In August 2007 Brent Martin, a young man with learning difficulties, was viciously attacked and murdered for a £5 bet. Before his death, his three attackers partially stripped him, chased him through the streets and subjected him to a sustained attack in four different locations.

These are not one-off incidents. Disabled people in Britain are regularly mocked, taunted, robbed, assaulted and harassed. Their homes are attacked; their cars damaged and the places where they live, work and meet are also targeted. In some cases, these incidents develop into more sinister and serious crimes ending in kidnap, rape, torture and murder.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Access Lynx bus driver is charged with kidnapping and abuse after a physically disabled rider said he kissed her against her will.

Investigators say the suspect made repeated advances, assaulting the victim while she was strapped to her seat and had no chance to get away.

Gustavo Riano wanted nothing to do with Eyewitness News cameras or questions from our reporter following his arrest.

"Why did you get arrested?" asked Eyewitness News reporter Liz Artz.

The 49-year-old bus driver offered no response as he rushed away. He is charged with kidnapping and abusing a disabled woman who was riding on the Access Lynx bus he was driving.

Investigators say Riano avoided taking the victim to her destination and stopped several times to kiss and hug her while she was defenseless and strapped into a bus seat. The only thing the victim was able to do was send text messages to her husband, alerting him to what was happening.

Riano's wife says her husband is innocent.

"No, it's not true," said Mrs. Riano, refusing to look into the camera.

However, an Orange County detective says Riano admitted to the incident at a local hospital after he was attacked and physically beaten by the victim's husband.

Riano was employed by MV Transportation, the company that operates Access Lynx buses. A spokesperson for that company says Riano has been fired.

"He doesn't seem to be the kind of person that would harm anybody," said Whatley.

Riano was injured enough that he had to be treated at a hospital after he was attacked by the victim's husband. However, he did not want press charges against the man. In fact, one investigator in this case told Eyewitness News that Riano said he understood why the victim's husband was so angry and that he did not blame the man for giving him a beating.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

The German trial of three Swiss teenagers accused of brutally attacking randomly selected people in Munich last summer is set to begin on Monday.

Front-page news at the time, the event spurred calls by a shocked public on both sides of the border for a clampdown on juvenile violence.

Within the space of half an hour during the early hours of July 1 the Zurich youths, who were visiting Munich on a school outing, physically assaulted five men, one of whom was handicapped. One man was trampled almost to death.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

TACOMA, Wash. -- Police are looking for the person who sexually assaulted a developmentally disabled man at Point Defiance Park Saturday afternoon.

Tacoma police said the 24-year-old victim was fishing on the dock at the park before the attack. He was then enticed into the men’s bathroom at the boathouse by an older man. Once inside, police said the man sexually assaulted the victim.

Eyewitnesses said they saw the man walk away at about 1:30 p.m., but he got away before police were notified.

The attacker is described as African-American, about 35 to 40 years old, around 5 feet 10 inches tall and slender. Eyewitnesses said his clothes were distinctive: a black baseball hat, a bright-blue T-shirt and green camouflage pants with jeans underneath.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers of Tacoma and Pierce county at 253-591-5959.

Tips can also be submitted confidentially to the Tacoma Police Department through this Web site: here.

Holly Snead says two men broke into her home in Myrtle Beach, beat her up, and stole her prescription medication.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

A former soldier who attacked a severely disabled man as they exercised on a trampoline at a County Durham care home has been jailed for eight months.

Carer Wayne Parker, 37, shoved Gareth Gunner, 22, into safety netting before striking him with karate-style blows at the Newbus Grange home in Neesham.

Teesside Crown Court heard a neighbour filmed the attack after hearing Mr Gunner's screams in August last year.

Parker was jailed after pleading guilty to assaulting a person in his care.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh said neighbour Stephen Gray grabbed his camera after watching Parker, of Harcourt Street, Darlington, taunting and laughing at his victim, who has a vocabulary of just a few words.

'Fear and distress'

He then recorded Parker pushing Mr Gunner with great force into the safety netting surrounding the trampoline and punching him in the face.

Another witness, Clare Mathieson, described hearing Parker's "cruel, nasty" laughter and Mr Gunner wailing unhappily as he was attacked.

Judge Tony Briggs, who watched the recording of the attack, said: "It is perfectly plain that Mr Gunner was clearly distressed and frightened, and in relation to that it is not a surprise that those who lived nearby and were used to the sounds patients made clearly stated that they were sounds of fear and distress.

A THUG punched and head- butted a disabled man on a busy city bus after the victim shouted back when he taunted him.

Ex-convict Ian Brown left father-of-one Steven Davidson battered and bloodied after chasing after the bus on which he was travelling to attack him.

Mr Davidson's partner Susan Wright said today that Brown – who was previously jailed for assault and robbery – had picked on him for years after singling him out "because of his learning difficulties". The couple called for him to be jailed.

Mr Davidson, 42, was heading to a training session with his special needs football team when he was attacked on the number 26 bus on Portobello High Street.

He said: "I was on the bus and Ian Brown was coming out of a shop with a paper. He started shouting at me and calling me names. I shouted back, "I'm not, you are".

"Then he got into his car and drove after the bus to the next stop. He came up to me and said, "What did you say?", then he head-butted me in the face. My nose was bleeding then he started punching me too. I knew I couldn't do anything so I waited for him to stop."

GREENSBURG, Pa. - Jennifer Daugherty's mom and stepdad didn't press for details when she mentioned she had made some new friends. The 30-year-old had the mental abilities of an adolescent but wasn't the kind to get in trouble, and she was even thinking about getting her own place soon. Police found her body Friday stuffed into a garbage can in a school parking lot; they say she had been forced to consume detergent and urine — and to write a fake suicide note — before she was fatally stabbed by attackers who also shaved her head and painted her face with nail polish. Six suspects have been charged, including her new "friends." "She was exploited, and her kindness and her handicap made her very vulnerable," Daugherty's sister, Joy Burkholder, said. "She trusted everybody; she believed everyone was good, and no one would hurt her."

Daugherty's stepfather said she often traveled on her own by bus from her home in Mount Pleasant to Greensburg, about 10 miles away, for dental or counseling appointments. After she hopped onto a bus Monday, she called her folks later in the day seeking permission to spend the night at "Peggy's" house. It was the last time she would talk to them.Daugherty went willingly went to the apartment where she was killed about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, according to police, who wouldn't discuss a motive or details on how the visit turned deadly.

Wrong place at wrong time?Police say she was beaten with a towel rack, vacuum cleaner hose and a crutch, and her body bound with Christmas decorations, an affidavit said. Police said she was fed vegetable oil, medications and spices in addition to soap and urine.She was stabbed multiple times with an unknown weapon in the neck, chest and head, Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth Bacha said. Authorities said they found the victim's belongings in the building's attic, as well as items that had been used to clean up blood."She was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, stumbled into a bad situation," said Greensburg Police Chief Walter Lyons.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Warrington man has today pleaded guilty to murder and been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a disabled friend who had looked to him for help and support.

Kevin Francis Walsh, 46, lived in Whitethroat Walk, Warrington. He had difficulties with mobility following health issues in his life, and a small circle of acquaintances would help him out, popping to the shops to collect food and other items he might need, and calling at his home to keep him company. His neighbours described him as a pleasant man who would pass the time of day, but could appear frail.

One of those “Good Samaritans” was Andrew Blaine, 25 years, also of Warrington. Blaine was entrusted by Kevin Walsh with the details of the post office account into which his disability allowance was paid, and would go to the local post office to collect cash for Kevin. However, police believed that Blaine abused this position of trust, and stole money from the vulnerable man who had trusted him. Police subsequently established that the balance of money in Kevin’s account had been cleared out.

Kevin’s body was found slumped in a chair in his home in the early hours of Thursday 12 February 2009. A Home Office post mortem established that the attack which had claimed his life had been sustained and determined, with several different methods of assault upon him to ensure that he would die. While the precise order of the attacks upon him cannot be confirmed, medical experts believe that Kevin was subject to blows to his head and face – possibly delivered by a fist. This caused bruising and injuries to his forehead, nose, and scalp, and to the chest and collarbone. It is thought that Kevin was also attacked using two kitchen knives, with slash wounds running across his nose, cheek, and lips. He also had around 20 puncture wounds to his chest – commensurate with being prodded with the knife – and two full stab wounds to the chest. It is known that Kevin tried to defend himself as he had defensive injuries to his hand. Kevin’s injuries also included evidence of asphyxiation, possibly from his mouth and nose being forcefully blocked. Such was the force used, that

one of Kevin’s teeth was knocked out, and was found in his stomach. Finally, his throat was cut.

A THUG who hit a man in a wheelchair, breaking his jaw, has been jailed.Darren McGillvary, 34, of Lees Close, Dalton, was yesterday sentenced to eight months in prison after slapping Richard Keegan.Bradford Crown Court heard 15-stone McGillvary had hit Mr Keegan, 42, with back of his hand knocking him from his wheelchair and onto the ground.The incident took place outside Mr Keegan’s home in February following an argument between the two.Mr Keegan, who is wheelchair-bound after losing a leg, had accused McGillvary of stealing from him when McGillvary lashed out cracking the left side of Mr Keegan’s jaw and loosening a crown in his mouth.Yesterday passing sentence Judge Jonathan Rose described the assault as a “cowardly attack on an extremely vulnerable man”.The court was told the pair had become acquainted around 2008 and Mr Keegan would lend unemployed McGillvary money.On finding items missing from his home Mr Keegan called McGillvary a thief when an argument started.

Monday, October 19, 2009

St. Paul, Minn. — A 22-year-old man was found guilty Monday for his role in an attack on a 24-year-old mentally disabled man in October 2008.Jonathan Michael Diepold of Northfield will be sentenced in December after being convicted of charges including kidnapping, aggravated robbery and assault.Diepold was one of five people charged in the incident in rural Dakota County, and is the last one convicted.Prosecutors said Diepold was one of the primary perpetrators in the attack, in which the disabled man had to be hospitalized for his injuries.The incident took place over two nights, as the man was lured to a rural area where he was accused of assaulting a girl and was beaten. On the second night, the man was able to make his way to a nearby road where a motorist picked him up and took him to a hospital.Sentences for the others involved in the attack ranged from four days in jail plus community service work to eight years in prison.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

A TEENAGE girl left a disabled Barnstaple man bruised and bleeding on the floor after a violent attack, a court was told.The 17-year-old Barnstaple girl was given a year's community order after admitting inflicting actual bodily harm upon 51-year-old Oliver Hebden, who has chronic asthma and uses a walking stick.Exeter Crown Court heard that the girl and her group of friends swore at Mr Hebden and shouted insults, including calling him a "cripple", before she launched her attack and stopped him from calling the police.Judge Ian Leeming QC told the girl he had been intending to jail her for a long time until he learned of the progress she had made in turning her life around since the incident.The court heard Mr Hebden had also accepted a letter of apology from the girl, who cannot be identified because of her age.

Prosecutor Michael Brabin said the victim was walking home near a subway on the Roundswell estate, just after midnight on May 16 this year.The victim was approached by a gang who shouted abuse, before the girl stopped him from walking away.

"He was frightened," said Mr Brabin."He got onto his phone to call police. As he was doing that, he was hit in the back by this defendant."He was asked if he was calling police and he felt he couldn't continue it so he stopped."Then his walking stick was thrown into the hedge and the defendant threw his mobile phone into a hedge."

Mr Brabin said: "He was then hit repeatedly by the defendant. He fell to the floor, out of breath. With a lack of walking stick, he couldn't get up."He lay on the path for ten minutes, then he started to crawl to his home. He couldn't get back up but he managed to get to his house."Mr Hebden did not suffer serious injures but was bruised and bleeding.

Monday, October 12, 2009

The BBC has obtained shocking evidence of the abuse and prejudice which campaigners say is widespread against the estimated 13 million people with disabilities in Russia.Many are like prisoners inside their own homes, unable to go outside because of the lack of basic facilities in the towns and cities, while tens of thousands of children with disabilities go without any education.

Vadim Voevodin, who has suffered more than most, is behind a campaign to improve life for those with disabilities in Russia, and as we sat inside his tiny Moscow apartment, he showed me a shocking video.

In the black and white CCTV footage a man kneels on the ground outside his apartment, under attack. He tries to fight back but is pushed down and held in a neck-lock.

But this is no banal brawl between two angry able-bodied men.The man on the ground is Mr Voevodin, and he is kneeling because he is paralysed from the waist down.

He has just been dragged from his wheelchair after answering a knock on the door from a local resident who came with the intention of beating him up.Two years after this brutal attack Mr Voevodin still lives in fear, and the two small rooms which he calls home are packed with surveillance equipment.

The situation for people with disabilities here is now worse than in Soviet times, it's like an undeclared war against us Vadim VoevodinCCTV cameras and microphones protrude from every corner and a bank of monitors, video recorders and computers dominate an entire wall.

But the electronics are not only there because of his fears about security; the apartment is also the nerve-centre of his campaign.And that is because he has no other choice of location.

He said he has not been able to go outside for the past 10 years because his front door is too narrow to get through in a wheelchair and, even if it was wider, he would not be able to get into the lift to go down to the ground-floor because it is too small.And if he ever made it onto the city's streets he would face a maze of obstacles - steep kerbs , flights of steps, cars parked on pavements and a public transport system almost all of which is inaccessible for those with disabilities.

But even all this is not what troubles him the most.'Undeclared war'On his website he has posted a series of photographs of associates whom he said have died because of the acute prejudice within Russian society against those with disabilities."The situation for people with disabilities here is now worse than in Soviet times, it's like an undeclared war against us," he said."A wheelchair user I know, who was an active fighter for the rights of people with disabilities… was left to die in a hospital ward.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Philadelphia Police are investigating an alleged sexual assault in the West Oak Lane section of the city.Authorities say the victim told police she was asleep in her bed in the 1100 block of Sydney Street when she awoke at about 2:30 a.m. to find a strange man standing over her.

The victim reported the male, who was armed with a butcher's knife, covered her head and bound her hands and sexually assaulted her.

Following the alleged assault, police said the suspect robbed the victim of $210 and a bank card before fleeing the scene.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late 20s to early 30s who appeared to weigh approximately 140 pounds and stood about 5'9" to 5'10" tall.According to sources, the victim was disabled and relied on her wheelchair as her primary mode of transportation.

93-year-old retired British nurse had her throat slashed in a brutal murder at her Florida home. Wheelchair-bound Evelyn Norell may also have been sexually assaulted during the murder, allegedly committed by an odd job man.Police say the elderly victim was discovered naked Read more:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- People with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to be victims of violent crimes than are people without disabilities, according to a government study released Thursday.

A study suggests the disabled are more likely to be victims of violent crime than those without disabilities.

The first national study of its kind found that a wide range of disabled people -- including blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, and others with physical and mental limitations -- were victims of assaults, rapes and robberies in 716,000 cases in 2007.

The study by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics said instances of violence against disabled people occurred overall 1½ times the rate of those without disabilities, but the numbers varied by age group.

The most vulnerable groups were disabled people ages 12 to 19 and 35 to 49, for whom victimization occurred at nearly twice the rate of non-disabled persons.Michael Rand, chief of victimization research for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, did not speculate on the reasons for the findings.

"It's hard to say," Rand said. "We didn't try to get at motivations."Rand, a co-author of the study, said many of the crimes were committed by people who did not know their victims. Forty percent of the crimes against disabled male victims were committed by strangers versus 45 percent against those without disabilities.Don't MissRead Justice Department's findings

The difference for females was greater: 34 percent of disabled females were victimized by strangers versus 24 percent for women without disabilities.

The study found that people with cognitive disabilities such as mental retardation, developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy represented the largest group of victims.Simple assaults accounted for about two-thirds of the crimes against disabled people in the study, which tallied 476,000 simple assaults, 114,000 aggravated assaults, 79,000 robberies, and 47,000 rapes or sexual assaults.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A WALSALL drug addict who tried to rob a 61-year-old wheelchair-bound man has been put behind bars for four years.

Judge Michael Challinor told Steven Griffiths: "You deliberately targeted this elderly man because you hoped you would not have to use much force to overwhelm him, but that made what you did no less terrifying.

"When you attack someone in a wheelchair, you risk causing further damage to someone who is already infirm."

Griffiths had a previous conviction for assault with intent to rob and, at the time of the offence, was the subject of a Community Order for stealing from his sister. The judge told him: "You, and others like you, must understand that if you attack vulnerable people in the street, you can expect no mercy."

Saturday, September 19, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH - A man using a wheelchair and his teenage stepson were attacked and cut overnight by home invaders using a machete, Daytona Beach police said today.

The attack on Byron Street early Saturday morning sent the man to the hospital, a report from police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said.According to the report, the victim had just arrived home and was in his wheelchair when four to six men ambushed him, asking, "Where's the stuff?"

The victim told police he responded that he didn't have anything and he was told the men would go into his house and kill his wife.Moments later, three of the men cut the homeowner with a machete as the other three used his keys to get into the house.

The victim's stepson stepson, who is about 13 and was asleep on the couch, was awakened and his dreadlocks cut. He was tossed to the floor, where he was kicked and beaten as the attackers asked for money.The home invaders then ransacked the house and took clothing and other items as they fled on foot.

The homeowner suffered a deep cut to his forehead and to his right and left hands. He was rushed to Halifax Health Medical Center. The stepson was treated at the scene

THE full horror of what can go wrong when people spend fortunes on personal security — and then employ strangers off the street to work in their homes, was brought home this week when the gardener of up-market Sandown Retirement Village in Pinetown appeared in court charged with the murder of 87-year-old Sheila­ Hesk in August.

Hesk, a wheelchair-bound widow was bound hand and foot, beaten and tortured to death — allegedly by Sphamandla Cele and his friend Ayanda­ Mthembu.

Cele was employed by the management of Hesk’s retirement village even though he had an extensive criminal record, including convictions for burglary and assault. Arrested last week while on the run in KwaDabheka west of Durban, Cele is said to have admitted to murdering Hesk — but showed no remorse at all. Cele and Mthembu appeared in court earlier this week and were remanded into police custody until September 22.

The murder of Hesk, inside a secure retirement home, shocked Durban. Sandown’s own website boasts: “The level of security at Sandown Village should give you added comfort too. The entire property is walled and there are security officers on patrol at night, which means [that] you can feel totally confident of your home’s security when you go on holiday.”

Since Hesk was found near naked, bruised and bloodied, speculation has been rife as to the identity of her attackers. However, the SAPS have been hunting for Cele since minutes after being called to the scene of Hesk’s murder.

On August 26, Hesk’s body was found by the Sandown estate manager Mike Roberts. Neighbours of the wheelchair-bound woman had heard noises from her flat during the night but they had not been alarmed. However, when her door remained closed the following morning they alerted Roberts.

Hesk’s flat had been ransacked. However, a small safe remained unopened and had clearly resisted attempts to force it off the wall. It is suspected that Hesk could not remember how to open the safe and so, convinced that she was holding out on them, her attackers tortured her to death by repeatedly stabbing and punching and kicking her.

A ROBBER who attacked two vulnerable women in their homes to feed his gambling habit has been jailed for 10 years for his "despicable" crimes.

Posing as a policeman and an electrician, Martin Cliff, 24, of Shearman Avenue, Kimberworth, Rotherham, conned his way into the women's homes and stole cash and credit cards.He even tore a wedding ring from the finger of one of his victims, Sheffield Crown Court said.

The first victim, Paula Murphy, 34, was wheelchair bound and suffered from spina bifida, while the second woman, Nora Quail, was 82.

Cliff, who lived near both women, approached Ms Murphy's home in Kimberworth a number of times before robbing her on March 30. Posing as a police officer he buzzed her intercom and when she opened the front door, Cliff forced his way in and pushed his terrified victim to the floor in her wheelchair.

Ms Murphy managed to push her panic button but Cliff cancelled the alarm, and ran through her house threatening to kill her before making off with her bag, cash and credit cards.

Ian Goldsack, prosecuting, said on his arrest Cliff had told the police they were "out of order" for suggesting he'd committed the crime.

Speaking about Ms Murphy he said: "The incident has had a significant effect on her, and she is now scared of being in her own home where she should feel safe."She says the attack is "constantly on her mind", and often cries and feels emotional. She sleeps in her wheelchair all night because she is afraid to go to bed, and has suffered a blood clot in her leg as a result of spending more time in her chair."

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Philadelphia man was arraigned yesterday on charges of rape and sexual assault in connection with an attack on a disabled man at the Paoli Acme last month, Tredyffrin Township police said.Bryan Parks, 54, was apprehended about 2 a.m. by Philadelphia officers at a homeless shelter. Tredyffrin police had distributed a composite sketch and video surveillance photo of the suspect after the 41-year-old victim came forward on Sept. 3, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, who had gone shopping with his caretaker on Aug. 8, encountered Parks in the men's room. Parks pulled the victim's wheelchair into a stall and threw the victim to the floor to assault him, the complaint said.

The victim told police he was "too embarrassed" to tell his female caretaker about the attack right away. Parks was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $250,000 cash bail, police said. - Kathleen Brady Shea

Friday, September 11, 2009

Investigators in Chester County say they apprehended a suspect who allegedly raped a wheelchair-bound man in a supermarket bathroom.

Investigators said they arrested suspect Brian Parks Thursday evening at a Center City homeless shelter in connection to the August 8 incident.

According to investigators, the 54-year-old Parks stands accused of raping a man who was confined to a wheelchair inside the bathroom of a Paoli ACME."We feel totally comfortable that this is the individual who is responsible for the heinous crime at the ACME," Sgt. Jack Bailey of the Tredyffrin Police Department explained.

Investigators said Parks allegedly locked his victim in a bathroom stall during the assault.According to an arrest warrant, Parks "pulled his wheelchair backwards … forcefully remove the victim … and throw him to the floor."

While being led into a police cruiser with a sweatshirt over his head, Parks said to reporters: "Find yourself some real crime to deal with."Investigators said Parks has an arrest record that spans through several states.He is being at the Chester County Prison in lieu of $225,000 bail.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A Phoenix native has been facing allegations of torturing and murdering a man helplessly bound to a wheelchair. Angela Simpson on Tuesday confessed to her crime, shouldering responsibility of having inhumanely killed Terry Neely, whom she called nasty. She said she took delight in finishing him off.

Television station KTVK, in an interview with the 33 year old Angela Simpson, recorded a candid acceptance from the murderer who said she tempted a 46-year old Terry Neely to have sex with her and guided him to her apartment. She even promised the man some drugs, she said. Once Neely reached her home she allegedly beat him with a tire iron, plucking out several of his teeth and finally strangled the man with a t.v. cable, after 3 days of persistent torture. She said the experience was gratifying as the man was a snitch.

After Neely died she tried to get rid of him by burning his body. The mutilated remains were traced in a trash container outside church premises on August 5th, and Phoenix police spokesman Luis Samudio said that the body had burnt to such an extent that Neely’s gender could not be determined and only after the body parts were recovered by firefighters that it was identified via his fingerprints.

Angela Simpson behaved brutally indifferent and callous to the seriousness of her crime even asking investigators to give her a candy bar in return for her nonchalant disclosure.Investigators are “shocked at the casualness” of her monstrosity. Autopsy results revealed that Simpson had even hammered a 3-inch nail into the head of Neely!

It was the darkest night of my life,” recalled 45-year-old Ravinder Nath Pradhan, who a year ago saw his house and paralyzed brother doused with gas and set afire by a fanatical mob. Since then, Pradhan told IANS, justice is “nowhere near.” On Aug. 24, 2008, some 500 people attacked his village and destroyed his house.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A 20-YEAR-OLD man suffering from cerebral palsy was attacked by two offenders after buying beer in a Forest Town shop.The victim was knocked to the floor by the men after they demanded the cans of beer he had bought from a shop on Clipstone Road West.

When he refused to hand them over, he was kicked to the floor and the men grabbed the cans and ran off.

A PLASTERER tanked up on vodka and brandy went 'berserk' and attacked a wheelchair-bound man, a court heard.Michael Butler, 40, of Jacob Court, Spencer Road, Bromley, admitted hitting Steven Sadler, 31, twice in the face leaving him semi-conscious on August 30 last year.Croydon Crown Court heard on Monday that Butler attacked Mr Sadler following an incident involving a 57-year-old woman.

He pleaded guilty to common assault and criminal damage and was ordered by Judge Simon Pratt to pay £750 costs to Mr Sadler, who also lives in Jacob Court.Prosecuting, Michael Hogston said a charge of indecently assaulting the woman would not be proceeded with as she died on August 5 this year of a heart attack.Butler had also faced an allegation of indecent exposure but this, too, was dropped through lack of evidence.When arrested, Butler said he had been drinking vodka and brandy on that day and had no clear recollection of what had happened.

Defending, Emlyn Jones said Butler had not been coping well with the pressures of life and it was drink that had led to these offences.Judge Pratt told Butler: "You behaved disgracefully. You were quite out of it, and the statements I have seen make rather bizarre reading. Your denial to the police of doing anything wrong did you no credit."

After the hearing, Mr Sadler, who is paralysed from the waist down, recalled that hectic day outside the flats. He said that Butler came up to him and said he had cancer and he wanted his wheelchair.He added: "He got very aggressive. A neighbour intervened and got him upstairs but he came back down. He came up to and clawed my face."There followed a tussle near the patio door of Mr. Sadler's flats, during which he was struck again. He was nearly thrown out of his chair and he hit his head on a sofa, causing some concussion.